Microsoft updates Bing for Android, adds new UI, daily images

Microsoft certainly would prefer you to spend your money on a Windows Phone, but that doesn’t mean the company ignores its competition. In fact, it spends considerable time and energy designing apps for rivals iPhone and Android. Customers of the Google mobile operating system can get such services as SkyDrive, Bing, Office 365 and OneNote for their phones and tablets.

Now Microsoft has pushed a major update of its Bing app for Android. Version 4.2.0.20131129, which is compatible with Android 2.2 and newer, brings a capability which was once exclusive to Windows Phone. Users can now choose to use the Bing Daily Image as the wallpaper on their device. The image will automatically update each day, providing an added interest to your phone or tablet.

The big draw, however, is a completely redesigned user interface. Perhaps to nobody’s surprise, the new design has a more metro look to it. The homepage contains shifting images and each picture allows the user to view annotations, much like you can of Flickr. It’s a much improved look over the old UI.

Bing for Android is more than just a search engine. It is more of a suite of Microsoft apps, including Maps and the like. Users can also directly share things via Facebook and even sync with SkyDrive. You can even add a Bing search widget to the Android home screen. The app is free.